In October 2012, Calenda signed the political manifesto
"Towards the Third Republic" from the
Italia Futura movement. In the 2013 general elections, he was a candidate for the
Chamber of Deputies on the
Civic Choice - With Monti for Italy list in the Lazio 1 constituency, finishing as the first non-elected candidate.
Deputy Minister of Economic Development On 3 May 2013, following the formation of the grand coalition government led by
Enrico Letta and supported by
Civic Choice, the
Democratic Party (PD),
People of Freedom, and the
Union of the Centre, Calenda joined the Letta government as Deputy Minister of Economic Development. He was appointed on 2 May and served alongside
Antonio Catricalà under Minister
Flavio Zanonato. After the
Letta government collapsed and
Matteo Renzi became Prime Minister on 28 February 2014 Calenda was confirmed as Deputy Minister of Economic Development, with a specific focus on foreign trade. During his tenure, he led numerous delegations of Italian entrepreneurs abroad and launched the extraordinary
Made in Italy plan (Law No. 164/2014), which introduced measures to expand the number of companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, active in global markets, increase Italy's share in international trade, enhance the image of
Made in Italy worldwide and support initiatives to attract foreign investments to Italy. He also opposed granting
Market Economy Status to
China.
Italy's Representative to the European Union On 20 January 2016 the
Renzi government appointed Calenda as Italy’s Permanent Representative to the European Union, replacing Ambassador
Stefano Sannino.
Minister of Economic Development On 10 May 2016, just two months after being appointed Italy’s Permanent Representative to the EU, Calenda was recalled to
Rome to assume the role of
Minister of Economic Development. He succeeded Matteo Renzi, who had temporarily taken over the position following the resignation of
Federica Guidi due to the
Tempa Rossa scandal. On 12 December 2016, after Renzi resigned as Prime Minister following the failure of the Renzi-Boschi constitutional reform in a referendum, Calenda was confirmed as Minister of Economic Development in
Paolo Gentiloni's new government. As minister, he promoted and implemented
Industry 4.0, the first strategic industrial development plan in Italy. This initiative introduced automatic incentives for companies investing in tangible and intangible capital goods, significantly boosting industrial innovation and investment. The plan demonstrated its success through increased purchases of eligible assets. Calenda concluded his ministerial role at the end of the legislature.
2019 European Elections On 6 March 2018, two days after the
Democratic Party (PD) suffered a significant defeat in the general elections, Calenda announced his membership in the party, expressing his intent to reform it with a
reformist perspective. Ahead of the 2019
European elections, he launched
Siamo Europei (We Are Europeans), a political manifesto aimed at creating a united pro-European reformist list as an alternative to the sovereigntist bloc (comprising
Lega and
Fratelli d’Italia) and the populist bloc (represented by the
Five Star Movement). On March 19, Calenda officially announced his candidacy as the top candidate in the North-East constituency. The
Siamo Europei list was presented on 30 March, in collaboration with the PD, led by Lazio President and PD Secretary
Nicola Zingaretti. The manifesto attracted support from groups such as
Campo Progressista,
Democrazia Solidale, and other civic and political actors, including external supporters like
Centrists for Europe.
Articolo Uno also reached an agreement with the PD to present its candidates on the list. In the 2019 European elections, Calenda was elected as a Member of the
European Parliament with 279,783 votes in the North-East constituency, becoming the most-voted candidate on the PD list nationwide.
Leaving the PD and founding Azione On 23 July 2019 Calenda presented a motion to the PD National Directorate, approved with a large majority, stating that the
Democratic Party and the
Five Star Movement were and would remain incompatible due to their opposing values. The motion outlined three priorities for an immediate plan for Italy: education and training, healthcare, and investment. On 28 August 2019, after the fall of the
Conte I government and the PD’s agreement with the Five Star Movement to form a new government, Calenda announced his departure from the Democratic Party, citing consistency with the motion he had presented. On 21 November 2019 Calenda officially launched
Azione (Action), his new centrist political formation, alongside Senator
Matteo Richetti and a promotional committee. The party draws inspiration from the liberal socialism of
Carlo Rosselli, the social liberalism of
Piero Gobetti, and the populism of
Don Luigi Sturzo.
Run for Mayor of Rome On 18 October 2020, during an appearance on
Che tempo che fa with
Fabio Fazio, Calenda announced his candidacy for
Mayor of Rome in the 2021 local elections. Shortly after,
+Europa and the
Italian Republican Party endorsed his campaign, followed by
Italia Viva in April 2021. On 24 May he officially launched his candidacy under the list "Calenda Sindaco". In the elections, Calenda received 19.81% of the vote (219,878 votes), securing five seats on the City Council and finishing third, behind Enrico Michetti (center-right) and
Roberto Gualtieri (center-left), but ahead of incumbent Mayor
Virginia Raggi. Despite his success, Calenda renounced his council seat to focus on his role as MEP and leader of
Azione.
Secretary of Azione On 20 February 2022, during Azione’s first congress titled
“Italy Seriously” at the Palazzo dei Ricevimenti e dei Congressi in Rome, Carlo Calenda was unanimously elected secretary of the party, while
Matteo Richetti was elected president.
2022 general election following the election With the fall of the
Draghi government and the early dissolution of Parliament, on 2 August
Azione and
+Europa announced they would join the
Democratic Party coalition for the 2022 general elections. The three parties signed an agreement to avoid nominating divisive figures in single-member constituencies. However, on 7 August, following the inclusion of the Green-Left Alliance in the center-left coalition, Azione withdrew, causing a rift with +Europa. On 11 August Azione and
Italia Viva announced their decision to run together in the elections under a single list informally known as the
Third Pole, with Calenda as leader. He ran for the Senate in the Lazio-02 single-member constituency (Rome Municipality XIV) and as the top candidate in several multi-member constituencies: Emilia-Romagna 2, Lazio 1, Sicily 1, and Veneto 2. In the elections, Calenda was elected Senator in the multi-member Sicily-01 constituency, resigning from his position in the European Parliament on 12 October 2022. The
Third Pole achieved 7.79% of the vote in the
Chamber of Deputies and 7.73% in the
Senate, exceeding the 3% threshold.
Azione-Italia Viva Federation and the 2024 European Elections Following the elections, on 3 October 2022, Calenda announced that
Azione and
Italia Viva would form joint parliamentary groups in both chambers and establish a federation between the two parties. On 8 December 2022, Calenda and Italia Viva leader
Matteo Renzi signed an agreement for the official formation of the federation, with plans to merge into a single party. Calenda was appointed President of the Coordination Office, consistent with his leadership role during the previous elections. However, in April 2023, irreconcilable differences over the process of creating the new party led to the dissolution of the federation. Following the split, prominent Italia Viva members
Elena Bonetti and
Ettore Rosato left their party to join Azione. In May 2024, Azione ran in the European elections under the
Siamo Europei list, with Calenda as the top candidate in all constituencies except the North-West, where he was listed last. In the June 2024 elections, Azione garnered 3.3% of the national vote, failing to surpass the 4% threshold required for
European elections, in contrast to the lower threshold in national elections. ==Electoral history==